[Bills in Focus] Tackling poor construction practices, promoting SME carbon neutrality

Proposed bill: Partial Amendment to the Construction Technology Promotion Act

Proposed by Rep. Heo Jong-sik (Democratic Party of Korea)

● The recent collapse of an underground parking lot has brought to attention the need to remedy poor construction practices. This amendment reinforces the liability of constructors for managing the quality of construction projects by making the appropriateness examination for quality management mandatory by law and requiring the documentation of such examinations to be preserved for 10 years from the completion of a construction project.

Proposed bill: Act on Special Measures for Promoting Carbon Neutrality of SMEs

Proposed by Rep. Han Moo-kyung (People Power Party)

● Currently, the state’s regulatory efforts for carbon neutrality primarily target large and middle-standing companies with substantial greenhouse gas emission levels. To enhance progress toward the 2050 carbon neutrality goal, this bill aims to broaden these initiatives to encompass small- and medium-sized enterprises. It requires the creation of a promotion plan to foster carbon neutrality among SMEs every five years and establishes a committee on carbon neutrality among SMEs.

Pending bill: Partial Amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act

Proposed by Rep. Kim Yeung-shik (People Power Party)

● Giant content providers have been abusing their influence in the market to use internet network services without paying a fair cost. Therefore, this amendment aims to restore the sound order of the domestic network ecosystem by ensuring value-added telecommunications business operators pay reasonable costs for network usage.

Promulgated bill: Insurance Business Act

Competent Authority: Financial Services Commission

● This bill requires insurance companies to establish and operate a computerized system for indemnity health insurance claims and mandates medical treatment agencies, including hospitals, to transfer documents electronically to insurance companies upon the request of policyholders and insured individuals.

Administrative announcement: Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Occupational Safety and Health Act

Competent Authority: Ministry of Employment and Labor

● This amendment reinforces safety management at the construction site by requiring safety officers to have practical on-site experience. It enables qualified industrial safety engineers and industrial engineers to become safety and health coordinators if they have practical experience in construction safety. Furthermore, this amendment also prolongs the training program for construction safety officers to 2025 and allows individuals with at least five years of experience to be appointed a safety officer for SMEs in non-construction fields if they complete this training program.

The Korea Herald republishes a weekly legislative report by local law firm DR & AJU LLC to provide the latest information on bills approved, proposed, pending and set to be promulgated. -- Ed.

---

For any queries about the bills, contact cr@draju.com.